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HURLEY Family History

The surname Hurley has become the anglicised version of several distinct original Irish patronymics: 1) Ó hUirthile, part of the Dál gCais tribal group, based in Clare and North Tipperary, from a personal name of uncertain meaning; 2) Ó Muirthile or Ó Murghaile, based around Kilbritain in west Cork, the most numerous of the three (MacLysaght, 1985); Woulfe (1923) gives the derivation from personal name meaning 'sea-tide';3) Ó hIarlatha, from the district of Ballyvourney, also in Cork, whose name is more usually anglicised (O) Herlihy; Woulfe (1923) gives the derivation from personal name meaning 'under-lord';4) Ó Comáin, usually anglicised Cummins in Co Cork, has also become 'Hurley' in some instances in Cos Cork and Clare, due to the mistaken belief that the personal name came from 'camán'- a hurley (stick), a practice known as 'pseudo-translation'.